Im so confused lately..... ive had MANY tests done on my heart dr's said all came back ok. Dr also said i most likely have GERD, main symptom i have is mild discomfort when swallowing food. (when food hits the sternum area probably entering stomach) Its very mild not to bad just discomforting. Also feels like my stomach is sensitive, esp with cold or hot food.

However i get this pains/cramps in the left side of my chest, right where my heart is! Its like the whole left pectoral area. I also get palpitations ooccasionally and sometimes when i lay down, i get a few seconds of a sinking feeling like someone dropped a boulder on my chest.

I often notice this cramp in my chest worse after physical activity. It often creates anxiety as i worry that something is wrong with my heart.

Has anyone experienced these type of symptoms with GERD? The strange thing is i dont really notice any specific symptoms to acidic foods, burning, regurgitation, vomiting or any other basic gerd stuff. Just sternum discomfort with dense foods, and these wierd chest/heart issues.. i hope someone can relate, my dr isnt very easy to follow.

P.S im 22 year old male, no family history of heart disease except in one grandfather, no pre-existing conditiosn other than prostatitis.

My roommate suffers from that same GERD. But hers didn't start until she started taking Plavix earlier this year.

Are you on any medications that could cause that?

If you can not understand your doctor, then definitely seek out a new one. You should not have to suffer like that.

Tell me more about your symptons and I will consult with her on what her doctors are saying about it. If nothing else, maybe I we can help give you a set of questions to ask your doctor on your next visit.

Have you had a Modified Barium Swallow or Esophagram? They help detect any swallowing problems and sometimes the reflux. I have "silent" reflux that I thought was under control and those tests showed I still had reflux and food coming back up when I swallowed.

thanks for the replies. I had a endoscope done and no problems found. I took aciphex and prevacid for awhile, but they made me feel really sick. The aciphex i actually took 1 dose and it gave me really bad heart palpitations so i stopped that....other than that i take no medication

I just have discomfort when food passes into stomach, sometimes stomach cramps mostly mild stuff. My throat is also very tense feeling, tight feeling even. I still can breath ok and i had a tonsillectomy 2 months ago but it didnt help the throat stiffness.

The chest pains is the most bothersome too me but dr says my heart is fine. Is it possible for acid reflux to have those effects??

I have gastritis and acid reflux. I also get quite severe chest pain around my heart. For me they are two separate things. The chest pain was diagnosed as referred pain from tight neck muscles. I see a PT or Chiro and they help a lot. I still get it at times but it doesn't worry me anymore, I just go and have it treated again. Mine is caused by bad posture. The Doc just pressed on a muscle in my neck, which really hurt and said that's your problem. I must admit I have the greatest Doctor in the world. I hope that helps.

I have gastritis and acid reflux. I also get quite severe chest pain around my heart. For me they are two separate things. The chest pain was diagnosed as referred pain from tight neck muscles. I see a PT or Chiro and they help a lot. I still get it at times but it doesn't worry me anymore, I just go and have it treated again. Mine is caused by bad posture. The Doc just pressed on a muscle in my neck, which really hurt and said that's your problem. I must admit I have the greatest Doctor in the world. I hope that helps.

i def have tight neck muscles also. It feels like my neck is being pulled or tight, maybe it is related to my chest pain. I also like i said have palpitations which is odd, but my dr said it is not cardiac problem. Does anyone else get palpitations ever related to gerd?

Hi Nauthiz, I have esophageal spasms which causes pain in my chest, right in the middle, sometimes to the right and sometimes to the left, anyway, this pain mimics what you would expect a heart attack to feel like. I have had these pains since 1981 and I usually just eat soda crackers and slowly drink water, well, I now go to a pain management doc for fibromyalgia and I was talking to her about it and she told me to take flexeril, a muscle relaxer, and guess what, it works, I haven't had any spasms since, what a miracle. If you take flexeril and it makes tired, just take it at bed time and you should be fine.

Hi Nauthiz, I have esophageal spasms which causes pain in my chest, right in the middle, sometimes to the right and sometimes to the left, anyway, this pain mimics what you would expect a heart attack to feel like. I have had these pains since 1981 and I usually just eat soda crackers and slowly drink water, well, I now go to a pain management doc for fibromyalgia and I was talking to her about it and she told me to take flexeril, a muscle relaxer, and guess what, it works, I haven't had any spasms since, what a miracle. If you take flexeril and it makes tired, just take it at bed time and you should be fine.

Sunny

hmm i will look into that. I also used xanax maybe that would help? Did you notice any sensitivity to your heart beat? Like either palpitations or just noticing it beating or more intensity in the beat?

It could be that the pain you are having is causing you stress which in turn is causing your heart to palpitate. Just because your heart doesn't do it when they are taking a test, doesn't mean it isn't happening. I had a doctor tell me my pain was just heart burn....I knew better but I didn't keep going to doctors to find out what it was, not until about 3 years ago, I was just sick of doctors. Ask your doc if it could be esophageal spasms, and if they do another endoscopy and it dosn't act up while doing the test, doesn't mean you don't have them. Try the muscle relaxer and see if it doesn't help.

As a long term anxiety sufferer I can assure you anxiety does cause heart palpitations. Just a suggestion, why not try PT or chiro on your neck before you have anything invasive done. It takes a few sessions before you feel the benefits. If you have a stiff neck anyway it can only help.

Im so confused lately..... ive had MANY tests done on my heart dr's said all came back ok. Dr also said i most likely have GERD, main symptom i have is mild discomfort when swallowing food. (when food hits the sternum area probably entering stomach) Its very mild not to bad just discomforting. Also feels like my stomach is sensitive, esp with cold or hot food.

However i get this pains/cramps in the left side of my chest, right where my heart is! Its like the whole left pectoral area. I also get palpitations ooccasionally and sometimes when i lay down, i get a few seconds of a sinking feeling like someone dropped a boulder on my chest.

I often notice this cramp in my chest worse after physical activity. It often creates anxiety as i worry that something is wrong with my heart.

Has anyone experienced these type of symptoms with GERD? The strange thing is i dont really notice any specific symptoms to acidic foods, burning, regurgitation, vomiting or any other basic gerd stuff. Just sternum discomfort with dense foods, and these wierd chest/heart issues.. i hope someone can relate, my dr isnt very easy to follow.

P.S im 22 year old male, no family history of heart disease except in one grandfather, no pre-existing conditiosn other than prostatitis.

This sounds somewhat similar to what I have had the past 5 years. I am a 24 year old male, and since the age of 19 I have had severe and chronic heartburn, chest pain, stomach pain, crams, etc. I have never been able to find a source to the problem, and I have had MANY tests done. One time when I was in the hospital this past july, they suggested porphyria. I thought that this was it because many things I read about, suggested that I had this. I was recently told by a specialist that it is not this, and my test were normal Many times the only time I can get relief is from opiates(which I never found out about until I was in an accident 2 years ago and put on painkillers for broken bones, and suddenly I had no more illness), as well as a hot bath because I feel extremely cold at times. It is the worst in the mornings, when I wake up, or sometimes it's what wakes me up early in the morning. So I think it has something to do with sleep. Yours sounds a little different from mine but similar in many ways, and I definitely know what it feels like to have no idea what the problem is, and every doctor you speak to tells you that you're fine, and simply have GERD or heartburn.